Battman with Chef Nico Romo.
October 23rd, I caught a 9am flight to Charleston, SC to work with Chef Nico Romo at Fish, a restaurant that he would be leaving soon to open his own place. It was a beautiful small town. After the shoot we went for a driving tour of the old mansions and slave markets. That night I stayed at the old Lowndes Grove Plantation that the owners of the restaurant renovated to use for events and weddings. It was beautiful but all I could think of was The Shinning (the movie). I was the only one on the property. Very weird.
The next day I drove to Sea Island, Georgia. An over the top resort that was as luxurious as it gets. On the way I was using WAZE, an app for directions). It was the first time I used it and didn’t realize that it stopped talking to me so I passed my exit by 10 miles. (I thought it was awfully quiet for a long time). I worked with Jonathan Jerusalmy and his meticulous work that fit well with the resort. Unfortunately I didn’t stay in the resort. It was booked.
The next morning it was a 6:15 flight to Atlanta to see Olivier Gaupin, the Executive Chef at The Loews Hotel. Olivier then drove me to the Intercontinental Hotel in Atlanta to work with Chef Didier Laiheugue on his 4 dishes (did I mention there were 4 dishes from each chef?).
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2/3″][vc_column_text][vc_gallery images=”855793,855773,855766,851363,838148,855837,851333″][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text]With no time to spare I took a cab to the airport for a 7:50 flight to Memphis. I checked into the Sheraton Four Points. Chef Jose Gutierrez at the River Oaks restaurant was waiting for me first thing in the morning with his dishes. Did the photo thing and jumped in a cab to the airport. Chef Pierre Chambrin picked me up at the airport and we went to the St. Louis Club. It was dinner time but I wasn’t dressed for eating in the elegant dining room so I had my own private room with my own waiter. Very nice.The next morning I photographed Chef Pierre’s dishes then taxied my way to the airport to catch a flight to Chicago. This stop was at the very exclusive Everest Restaurant with Chef Jean Joho. That night I stayed in a room at the Buckingham Club with an amazing view of Chicago.
The last leg of the trip the next morning was a flight to Cincinnati to see Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel. Jean-Robert has the best hair of the MCF Chefs. I photographed his dishes at his new very fancy restaurant. That was my final shoot for this trip and so made my way home.
5 days, 6 flights 8 chefs & 32 dishes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
